Give the cook good tidings and guidings

Check out some favorites among a vast array of new cookbooks

In my first six months as Food editor, one of many things I’ve learned is that the cookbook publishing industry is alive and well. I’ve seen more than 100 review copies of new cookbooks in that short time. They have run the gamut from big to small, specific to general and serious to silly.

Since my office bookshelves are full, most of them ended up at our in-house charity book sale, but I stashed away a few favorites for further examination. Now that the gift-buying season is upon us, here are a handful of 2010 books to consider if you are shopping for someone who loves to cook.

Bittman writes about food for The New York Times, and his syndicated column runs weekly in this section. He’s a veteran cookbook author; his 1998 “How to Cook Everything” is considered a modern classic. When health issues prompted him to change his diet, he began to focus on creating dishes based on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Meat and fish are present but are no longer the centerpiece of a meal. As always, Bittman takes a no-fuss approach to cooking, with simple directions and lots of tips. Among his creations are Baked Rigatoni With Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Blue Cheese; Chipotle Quinoa With Corn and Black Beans, and Almost Whole Wheat Quick Bread.

Another good choice for health-conscious cooks, this book draws on 20 years of expertise in the test kitchens of EatingWell magazine. Most recipes call for 10 or fewer ingredients, and all go through a rigorous testing process, then are vetted by a dietitian. And each recipe comes with complete nutritional information. Included are healthier versions of such standards as mac and cheese, fried chicken and lasagna, as well as more exotic dishes: Puerto Rican Fish Stew (Bacalao), Delicata Squash With Orange and Pistachios, and Middle Eastern Lamb Stew.

“What to Cook and How to Cook It,” by Jane Hornby, Phaidon Press, $39.95.

I’m a sucker for step-by-step cookbooks, and the level of detail in this one is astonishing. Hornby, a Brit, worked for years at BBC’s Good Food magazine. This is her first cookbook. For each of the 100 recipes (and 850 photos), she leads you through the process from raw ingredients to the finished dish. There’s Cheese and Onion Tart, Lamb and Potato Curry With Fragrant Rice, Paella, and several English favorites: Shepherd’s Pie and Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings. If this kind of cookbook is your comfort area, this is likely to become one of your staples.

“Jamie’s America; Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More,” by Jamie Oliver, Hyperion, $37.50.

Oliver, the cheeky British chef with a big heart, went on a cross-country trip to educate himself about American cuisine for his 10th book. As a result, he offers his own interpretations of such classics as NYC Cheesecake, Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya, Navajo Flatbreads and Chili Con Jamie. The graphic design of this book is arresting, and it’s filled with photos. Oliver is everywhere; he’s seen posing with fans, leaning against a New York City food cart, holding an alligator, lying beside a campfire, and, of course, cooking.

Like Oliver, O’Neill has compiled the culinary traditions from all regions of American cooking in this hefty volume. Ten years in the making, she estimates she covered 300,000 miles and winnowed 20,000 contributions to a final 600 recipes, each with the story behind it. O’Neill has profiles and recipes from home cooks, chefs, farmers, immigrants, fishermen and laborers. And it’s full of photos of Americans and their prized dishes as well as archival advertising art. San Diego gets several mentions, most notably several pages titled “The Salsa Games,” depicting the friendly competition over variations of the Mexican condiment within the extended family of Reynalda Aguilar de Ojeda. This book is a travelogue, a history lesson and a cookbook, all wrapped up together.

Anderson’s solution for busy cooks who want to entertain is to make one big, beautiful dish. She got the idea from a student in her cooking class who told her that orchestrating a meal for company was too much to handle. Anderson admits to a fondness for stews, so there are many to choose from in this book. And there is more: One-Pot Penne with Turkey-Feta Meatballs, Spicy Chicken Enchiladas Verde, Osso Bucco with Dirty Polenta, and Blue Cheese-Stuffed Beef Tenderloin. She also gives suggestions — and the recipes — for appetizers, salads or desserts to accompany the main-dish recipes.

“The Essential New York Times Cookbook; Classic Recipes for a New Century,” by Amanda Hesser, W.W. Norton & Co., $40.

To many serious foodies, The New York Times is the mecca of food writing in this country. For this massive book, Hesser, a veteran writer and columnist for the Times, had the ambitious assignment of compiling and editing the best recipes from the archives of the newspaper, all the way back to 1850, when the Times first began covering food. Hesser tested 1,400 recipes herself, ending up with 1,104 that made the cut. You can learn how to recreate Potted Salmon from the 19th century or Seared Tuna in Black Pepper Crust from the 1990s. Like its namesake, this is a Gray Lady of a book, with only a few black and white photos. It’s impressive and a little bit intimidating.

This little book of 1,020 recipes would drive a mature cook to distraction, but I’m guessing young chefs will find it entertaining. Evans tweets recipes daily to her fans of the Twitter community’s @cookbook. (Her partner, Blaine Cook, was the original programmer on Twitter.) For this book, the glossary in the back is essential, because it defines or illuminates all the abbreviations necessary to fit a recipe into Twitter’s limit of 140 characters. For example, here is Evans’ recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes: “Mix c buttrmilk/egg/2T mltdbttr; +c flr/T sug/½t bkgpdr&salt/¼t soda. Ladle in grsdpan@med; flip when bubbling.”

A slim black book that fits in the back pocket of bluejeans, this could be a helpful introduction to cooking for young men heading off to college or a first apartment. It opens with a handy guide to kitchen tools and a glossary of cooking terms. From there it launches into basic recipes, including how to make a pot of coffee, “hearty” breakfast ideas, sandwiches and snacks, meat-and-potato dinners, and even a chapter on desserts.